Sumitomo Forestry Expands U.S. Operations with Teal Jones Louisiana Acquisition

Tokyo-based Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd has acquired 100% of the membership interests of Teal Jones Louisiana Holdings LLC (TJLH) through its wholly owned subsidiary Sumitomo Forestry America, Inc. (SFAM) from Teal Jones Group. 

As part of its acquisition of TJLH, the company also indirectly acquired 57.05% of the membership interests of Teal Jones Plain Dealing LLC (TJPD) and made it into a consolidated subsidiary. Sumitomo says it will begin the launch of its first timber industrial complex in the US. In addition to dimension lumber and other materials to build houses and multi-family residential buildings in Louisiana, this complex may also manufacture mass timber.

Using more than 247 acres of land and plant in Plain Dealing, Louisiana, TJPD manufactures dimension lumber (structural lumber) and other materials used to build houses. The operation has the capacity to produce 300 million board feet of lumber annually. Every year, the plant receives delivery of approximately 1 million m3 of logs and manufactures 500,000 m3 of dimension lumber and other materials, equivalent to about 14,000 standard U.S. homes. In addition to outside purchasers, TJPD plans to supply product to Sumitomo's group operations. Furthermore, the company plans to utilize the approximate 99 acres of unused land on the site to manufacture and sell mass timber and wood products in preparation for future increased demand. Sumitomo is also considering processing wood chips and lumber residue generated from the manufacturing process into biomass power generation fuel and biorefineries. 

The company also plans to increase its number of plants in the U.S. from 10 to 15 by 2027.